This Isn't His Destiny
by AlisonSpeaks15
Summary: When Merlin is cut by a talon of a mysterious creature, he seemingly is on death's door. Arthur sets out to save his life., and gets more than what he expected. No slash, just bromance. MerlinWhump, some ArthurWhump, Eventual Reveal!fic
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: Merlin is NOT mine *sobs***

Prologue:

"Ah. Arthur Pendragon. I knew you would come." The woman in the dark dress said quietly, looking downwards toward her boots.

"You know why I am here." Arthur began.

"Yes, but do you?" The woman questioned.

Arthur silently questioned the action he was about to do.

"Yes."

The woman meet Arthur's eyes and smiled, barring her crooked teeth. Arthur ignored the look of thirst among her face. This woman didn't frighten him, no. It was what was about to unfold.

Suddenly, the woman moved into Arthur's face.

"Then a hypocrite you shall be," her grin widened viciously.

Arthur watched in awe as the forbidden words flew from the woman's mouth.

"Híeran min héafodwóp. Ágíeman sé cniht, céapian angelcyning æ for gebrócod." Her eyes flashed gold, dangerously.

Arthur closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There was no going back now.

When the woman finished the enchantment, she looked directly at Arthur.

"Remember, whatever happens now is not of my doing, but of yours, Pendragon."

It didn't matter. They had to save Merlin.

**A/N Hellllloooo again, readers! I'm so excited about writing this story. And, yes, the prologue is short! :) Please please please R&R, it means the world!**


	2. The Thing has escaped

Chapter 1:

Merlin sat on the edge of his bed. It was early in the morning, and Arthur had needed a speech written for the knighting ceremony later that night. Merlin had stayed up late just to finish it.

"_Prat... maybe he should learn to write his own speeches. But, that would require him to do something other than fighting,_" Merlin thought, chuckling lightly to himself.

He slowly rose from his bed, stretched, and lumbered to the window. He watched, fascinated, as the snow fell quietly to the ground, which was covered in a thin, white blanket.

He had always loved the snow, it was so gentle. Pure, almost.

Thinking back to his childhood in Ealdor, Merlin remembered how his mother would worry about him catching a cold. And a young Merlin, being the resilient child he was, would always catch a cold. He did miss his mother sometimes, but normally Arthur kept him so busy, there was no time to reminisce.

"MERLIN!" a voice shouted.

"_And speaking of the prat..._"

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

"Merlin, I need my armor polished and this room tidied," Arthur instructed.

"Um," Merlin began.

"Yes, that includes my boots." Arthur sniggered.

Merlin rolled his eyes. "No, Arthur, did you need this?" He waved around the parchment.

"Oh, so you have time to write speeches now?" Arthur queried.

"I'll have you know this took me almost two days!"

Arthur looked curiously at Merlin.

"Well, that explains the room then, doesn't it?"

Merlin huffed. "I.." he began.

Arthur held up a hand. "Well, let's read it."

Merlin handed the parchment to Arthur, who started to read.

"New Knights of Camelot. You have trained, and prepared for these moments."  
Arthur looked up. Slowly, calmly, he began,

"Each of you were chosen to fight in our battles because you each have the skills that your forefathers would be proud of. Each of you are ready for this. Do not let the enemy, the evil, sway you in any way. For they do not have the values you stand upon, nor the knowledge that the training they have has been put to good use. You, men, do. You are strong, and will fight until the end. Do not let the fear of death sway you, for if the moment does come, in which your time comes to an end, then know that you will pass with honor and will be greatly missed. You shall never be forgotten."

Arthur removed his feet from the rustic, wooden table in front of him, and set the long scroll of paper down onto it.

"Merlin, this is actually halfway decent. How could you ever learn how to write like this?" he asked cheekily.

Merlin, who stood in the doorway of the Prince's chambers, turned his facial features to mock aghast-ness.

His eyes narrowed as the lie came into his head.

"Well, if you really must know...I've been meeting up with a scribe's teacher, whose showing me how to step into someone's "shoes", per say, and he-"

"I was only joking," Arthur chuckled.

"Oh."

Arthur raised an eyebrow that even Gauis would be proud of. "Besides, MERlin," an eye roll, "You are a horrible liar." To which Merlin laughed nervously.

"So, will you be reading it at the knighting ceremony later?" Merlin inquired.

"I'm not sure," Arthur began, "There are some missing points. But I suppose it is good for someone of your ability..." he sniggered.

"Well, I wouldn't be too-"

Merlin was interrupted as the door swung open and a worried Leon appeared.

"Sorry for the intrusion, your highness." he said.

Arthur nodded, "No harm done-"

The warning bell sounded, shrill and clear, in the quietness of the morning hours.

"What happened?"

"Sire, you are needed immediately."

Arthur stood up quickly, recognizing the knight's distress. They filed out of the king's chambers and started jogging towards the courtroom.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

"What do you mean, escaped?" Arthur shouted.

Sir Reginald spoke up, "Just that, Sire. One moment here, the next..._poof_. We had three on guard duty. When it escaped, Sir Leon immediately ran to inform you, and Sir Reddick and I sounded the warning bell."

Arthur nodded, assessing the situation. "It must be found. Gather a patrol, fan out, and find it."

Arthur shook his head. "This thing is far too dangerous to have wandering about the city."

"Understood."

The knights turned to leave, when Arthur's voice stopped them.

"Do not attempt to kill it. Bring it back. I will be joining you shortly."

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

**A/N My plans for this story may or may not have gotten away from me... Hehe I have these little ideas that I'm hoping will become a bigger story. :) But how about that new Doctor Who? I cried... Bye bye Matt :/ *goes to sob in corner* Happy Holidays!**

What to expect:

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

"I'm fine, really. It's just a cut." Merlin looked hopefully at Arthur.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

"Sire! This is no mere sickness, do not treat it as such!" Gwaine exclaimed.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

"How long does he have, Gauis?" Arthur looked solemnly to the physician.

"I'm not sure. This is entirely new to me, as well, Sire. He may have a day, he may have twenty days." Gauis stated.


	3. The Attack

Chapter 2:

"Why is it that everything escapes from our dungeons?" Merlin asked cheerily, walking alongside Arthur, carrying provisions.

"Shut up, Merlin," Arthur warned.

"But, in truth... Bandits, criminals, sorcerers, beasts... What are we tracking anyway?"

Arthur opened his mouth to say something, then shut it again. He shook his head. "Sometimes, Merlin, I do wonder about your insane prattle. It must be exhausting!"

A few of the knight's sniggered.

Merlin looked awkwardly at Arthur. "You don't even know what it is we are trying to find, do you?"

"Shut up, Merlin!" he said, shoving Merlin roughly.

It was Gwaine who spoke up.

"Ladies! Ladies. Can we please have some peace and quiet?"

Merlin and Arthur exchanged wide-eyed glances.

"Did _Gwaine_ just say that?" Leon asked.

The company was utterly shocked. It was well known that Gwaine was loud and rambunctious. And he loved it. Gwaine was the knight who was always cracking jokes and being boisterous. But, hey, someone had to fill that role, correct?

"Yeah, it won't become a habit... I thought I heard something."

"Like what?" Percival inquired.

"A sort of _whooshing_ noise."

Elyan chuckled. "_Whooshing_? I think the ale has finally got to you, my friend."

"The ale would've gotten to me a long time ago, Elyan. I know what I heard." Gwaine said.

It was then movement caught Merlin's eye. Arthur had turned around very quickly, subconsciously bringing his hand to the hilt of his sword. Merlin's eyes narrowed, scanning the forest. There seemed to be nothing there. However, he still set the provisions on the ground and quietly queried, "Arthur?"

The knights had stopped their banter by then, and looked toward their king.

Arthur turned around slowly, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Whooshing, Gwaine?" he asked.

Gwaine nodded.

"Almost like... wings?"

"You hit the nail on the head, Sire."

Arthur sighed. "I heard it, too. I don't know what it is we're tracking, but I do know it is deadly and has killed many before."

He bent over and picked up a large black feather.

"And now we know it can fly."

An unfamiliar noise bursted throughout the clearing of the forest, causing them to jump. It was almost like that of a hawk, except louder...much louder. And more threatening.

They drew their swords.

"What was that?" Merlin asked slowly.

They all looked frantically toward the sky when a sort of whooshing noise resounded.

Gwaine turned to Elyan with a crooked smile. "So, how 'bout that ale, hey Elyan?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but you can't expect much else."

Gwaine laughed. "There is one..."

Arthur's voice drowned his out. "Form a circle, backs to eachother!"

They stood, back to back, with swords facing outwards to the forest.

Everything was silent, except for the ragged breathing of the knights.

Then the creature landed in front of Leon.

Leon's eyes widened.

It was a mighty creature, indeed.

It had talons the size of small daggers, and a beak about as sharp. Black feathers spread all over it's body. And it's body... It was bigger than any of the hunting dogs. It walked on fours, but it's claws would slow it down.

It opened it's beak and screeched as loud as any trumpet.

Then it charged forward.

Leon dodged it's talons, shoving Percival to the ground with him.

"Hey! You piece of crap! Come this way!" Gwaine was shouting.

The circle was now broken, and the knights were scattering throughout the clearing.

The creature turned and looked toward the sound of his voice.

"That's right... come meet my sword..."

It screeched again, taking a few cautious steps, then directed it's course to Arthur.

It pounced, and Arthur dove to the side.

He scrambled back to his feet and saw that the creature had made it's way to Percival, who had managed to stick his sword in one of it's wings.

The creature made a harsh, piercing cry, and quickly turned the other way.

It's next target was Merlin, who had his back turned, looking at Leon, who was still on the ground.

The next few seconds went by in slow motion to Arthur. The creature was getting closer. "_Gods, does this idiot even know he's in danger_?"

He yelled, "Merlin!"

Merlin turned as the creature pounced again, pinning Merlin effectively.

Merlin threw up his hands, and in an attempt to stop the creature from biting him, grabbed it's beak.

The creature would have none of it. It wriggled, but Merlin kept a firm grip.

He yelled, partly out of frustration and partly out of pain. The creature had dug one of it's talons deep into his arm.

Merlin looked down to see it had begun to bleed.

He made a noise in the back of his throat and gasped when he saw the tip of a sword protruding from the creature's chest.

"Oopmh!" he exhaled when the creature fell on top of him, revealing Arthur with a bloodied sword.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Change of plans. Looks like we're taking it back dead."

He pushed on the thing, attempting to free the boy trapped below.

Gwaine was instantly right there beside him, pushing.

"Come on, Princess!" he grunted.

"Merlin, can you roll out?" Arthur asked, breathlessly.

Merlin rolled and Arthur and Gwaine immediately dropped the creature back on the ground.

"Gwaine, go check on Leon, see if he has risen yet." Arthur commanded.

He crouched next to Merlin. "Are you hurt? Anything broken?"

Merlin shook his head, "No, I'm fine, Arthur."

"You're bleeding."

"I'm fine, really. It's just a cut." Merlin looked hopefully at Arthur.

"Alright, but we are bandaging that." He stood up and extended an arm.

Merlin took it and hoisted himself up.

"Leon! Is he alright?" Merlin asked.

They looked toward Gwaine and Percival sitting beside Leon, who was sitting upright and rubbing his head.

"Looks like he's fine."

"Arthur!" Elyan called. Arthur glanced his way, and saw Elyan was waving him over.

"The creature, it shimmered, and disappeared!" he said in awe.

"It can't just be gone." Arthur stated, looking around the forest.

"But, Sire. I saw it with my own two eyes. It was shimmering, and it slowly faded until it was gone."

Merlin looked cautiously at Arthur who was trying to piece together what had just happened.

"It must be magic."

**M.m.M.m.M.m.M.m.M.m.M.m.M.m.M.m.M.m.M**

**A/N Hello, you lovely peoples! I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing. I had major writer's block up until this morning, and then I just started cranking out the chapter. Oh, and happy New Year! Can you believe it is 2014? I feel like we totally skipped out on 2013. Oh! Brownie points if you got my LOTR reference!**

What to expect:

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

"Sire! This is no mere sickness, do not treat it as such!" Gwaine exclaimed.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

"How long does he have, Gauis?" Arthur looked solemnly to the physician.

"I'm not sure. This is entirely new to me, as well, Sire. He may have a day, he may have twenty days." Gauis stated.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

"Mother?" He asked quietly, eyebrows arched in confusion.

"Merlin... I need you to talk to me." she said.


	4. Trouble Ensues

_Small warning: The "S-word" is ahead._

Chapter 3:

The ride back to Camelot was rough, to say the least. Merlin felt as though his arm was burning, slowly spreading towards his chest. It was strange, at times it would feel dull and achy, like a small bruise was blossoming. But most of the time, it was like fire.

Merlin kept to himself. The fire was a constant reminder that Camelot, and Gauis, were still miles away. Thinking to himself, Merlin concluded that the worst part of this trip was the fact that they only had one horse to carry most of the weapons, so walking was the only option.

"And sheeee, she loveeees me!" Gwaine's voice rang throughout the air, breaking Merlin's train of thought.

Merlin rolled his eyes as Percival said, "As a mother should love her child, Gwaine."

Gwaine's mouth opened. "Excuse me, _Percival_, I have many girls who love me!"

"Ah, knock it off, will you?" Arthur said. "We are trying to get back in one piece, and you are obnoxious enough to make my ears bleed. It's bad enough we lost the creature and have to walk back in shame!" he snapped at the last bit.

The knights looked at each other. It wasn't like Arthur to be so irritable.

"Arthur.." Elyan began.

Leon, who had a good-sized bump on his forehead, began towards his king.

Arthur just shook his head and strode ahead.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

After walking for a few hours, the company decided it was high time for a break.

They set up camp, and set a fire ablaze. Elyan, Gwaine, and Percival had gone to collect firewood.

Merlin was sent to fill up the pouches at the normal creek where they refill. It wasn't far from where they made camp, but far enough away to distance themselves from animals.

He crouched to fill up the first pouch, when he suddenly felt heavy, like he weighed double. His arm was burning steadily, and it was starting to annoy Merlin.

He plopped down heavily against the trunk of a tree, panting slightly.

Leon was nearby and took one look at Merlin before walking over to where he lay.

"Merlin? Are you alright?" the knight asked, his eyes concerned.

"I'm fine... Just tired, that's all." he smiled.

At this point, Arthur had noticed something was amiss, and also walked over to Merlin.

He swallowed a lump in his throat when he saw how pale his manservant was. Merlin looked absolutely ashen. Even his eyes didn't seem as bright as they normally would be.

"Why don't you come and sit by the fire..." Arthur said. He noted how Merlin shivered in the nighttime chill.

Merlin began to move when he felt something was off.

He hadn't the strength to move.

He tensed his muscles and he felt horrifying pain. His heart fluttered against his chest; he tried to breath evenly, but couldn't. Arthur saw the boy's eyes widen and breath quicken, like a frightened animal.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

Merlin looked up and back down again. He was breathing so unevenly that Arthur thought he was going to pass out.

"Merlin, you need to calm down. Tell me what's wrong."

"M...My arm.." he managed.

Arthur pulled the tattered sleeve of Merlin's familiar brown jacket, and gasped at what he saw. The wound looked infected, and badly so. The terrifying part, however, was the black tendrils that crawled their way up and down Merlin's arm.

"Merlin..." Arthur blanched. "Why didn't you say anything...?"

The servant attempted to shrug, his response a muffled, "Mmm."

"Okay. Let's just calm down now. Try to take a deep breath." Arthur demonstrated, and Merlin attempted to repeat. Even though it wasn't much, Merlin began to feel better.

"I can't move.." Merlin whispered. "I can't..."

Leon placed a hand over Merlin's brow.

"Sire," he began. "He has a fever."

"_Shit_." Arthur thought in his head. "We need to get him closer to the fire," he said.

"I'll do it," a voice behind Arthur said, making him jump.

Turning quickly, he saw the voice belonged to Elyan.

"How did you get back so quickly?" Leon asked.

"I couldn't stand Gwaine's incessant prattle..." Elyan explained.

Elyan looked at Arthur. "I'll carry him, it's not far." he said. But Arthur waved him off.

Arthur slowly snaked his arms underneath Merlin's knees and behind his back, picking him up carefully.

Merlin felt like his body was lead, like he was the heaviest element on the earth. To Arthur, however, Merlin felt light. Not too light, but much lighter than Merlin imagined.

"Arthur...?" Merlin asked.

"If you ever tell anyone about this, MERlin... I will personally see the stocks are your new accommodations and you will scrub the main hallways..."

"Arth..." Merlin mumbled.

"...floors until they are clean enough to eat off of. Do you understa- Merlin?"

The boy in his arms made a noise clearly not healthy. He gagged, like he had downed one of Gauis' potions.

Arthur lowered Merlin to the ground and rolled him slightly to the side. Merlin pushed himself up onto his hands and knees and took a shaky breath. He convulsed once and proceeded to throw up colorfully. After dry heaving a few times, he collapsed to the side, narrowly missing the vomit.

"Merlin!" Both Percival and Gwaine, who had just observed what happened, exclaimed. They placed what firewood they had collected next to the fire, and took their place among the other knights and the sick boy.

Arthur was struggling with what to do.

"Maybe... he just ate some bad stew. His cooking is pretty bad.." he mumbled.

Gwaine glared at him.

"Sire! This is no mere sickness! Do not treat it as such!" he exclaimed.

Arthur knew the knight was right. He looked down a his now shivering friend, then toward Elyan.

"Elyan, take the pony and fetch Gauis. Bring him back here with medical supplies."

Elyan stood up and took the supplies off of the horse, and mounted.

"I'll be a quick as possible, Sire." he said.

Arthur nodded, then crouched down. Merlin had sweat forming on his brow. Arthur sighed. This was something new. He didn't know what was happening to his friend. He just hoped he would be okay.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

** A/N Hello, readers! I realize I didn't update last friday, and I'm sorry! We had midterms last Thursday and Friday and I was swamped with crud to do! But.. I hope this whumpy chapter makes up for it! ;) **


	5. The Consequences

Chapter 4:

Merlin woke to the smell of pork. He perked up. It was slow-roasted, cooked to perfection just like his mother used to make.

His shoulders slumped. He knew it was to good to be true.

Cracking his eyes open seemed to prove a much harder task than it should have been. He looked around, taking a few things in.

Cold. Very cold.

Outside.

Tree.

Forest.

He sniffed the air.

Food... okay...? Maybe it was real. Maybe he was dead...

Arthur. Arthur?

Merlin tried to sit up, but as soon as he lifted his head off the ground, a sharp pain shot through his very core, all the way from his feet to his head.

"Ah." he grunted, masking the pain that threatened to pull him back under. He gingerly laid back down. Suddenly, Arthur was right in front of him, crouching down, looking directly in his eyes.

"Merlin? Can you look at me?" Merlin looked at what he assumed was Arthur, he was having a hard time focusing.

Merlin scrunched his eyes, trying to blink away the blurriness. His eyes widened at what he was seeing.

Arthur's hair was growing. It became long, and dark.

Merlin blinked, owlishly.

His mother's face was now crouched before him.

"Mother?" He asked quietly, eyebrows arched in confusion.

"Merlin...I need you to talk to me." she said. Her hair was down. She grabbed his shoulder lightly. The last time her hair was soft and loose like that was long before Merlin moved to Camelot. Maybe he was back at home, and his mother was making salted pork again.

Merlin smiled at the memory. It was so long ago. Things were simpler back then.

"Come on, pansy." Merlin jumped as that deep, dark voice protruded from her familiar face. He watched incredulously as his mother's face morphed into a big, burly man, with a sneer smothered on his rugged face.

He smiled cruelly.

"No!" Merlin yelled. He clenched his eyes shut immediately.

He knew it. It was hallucination. There was no way his mother was here. She was safe. Back in Ealdor.

He also knew not to accept drinks from evil men. So when the familiar trickling of liquid slide down his throat, he knew to reject it. He gagged, and coughed the nasty liquid back up.

"No." He whimpered again. Didn't this man get it?

"You idiot. Drink it. Now." the cruel voice said.

_'Obviously not.'_ Merlin thought.

Merlin distantly felt a hand on his chin, tilting his head back. When he tried jerking away, he became aware of the crook of an elbow at the back of his neck. He was being held like a babe.

He knew it was no use. The man outweighed him, and was clearly much stronger. With a sob, Merlin gave in, and let the liquid go down the back of his esophagus.

He twitched uncomfortably as he was lowered back to the ground, which seemed to be made out of snow.

Merlin wondered what the evil man would do to him if he fell asleep.

'How is he so warm, when it's so cold?' he wondered.

Only a few coherent thoughts plagued his mind before blissful darkness took over.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m.M.m**.

"Merlin, you dolt. Why did you have to go and get yourself hurt?" Arthur asked the unconscious figure laying a few feet away from him, his own bedroll covered with Arthur's blankets.

Arthur could see the tremors running though the boy's body. Placing a hand on top of Merlin's forehead, he exclaimed, "Great! And now you're feverish..."

Arthur sighed. He couldn't stand seeing the people he cared for being like this. Merlin was supposed to be up, smiling, and falling over his own feet. Not laying limp, injured, and burning with fever.

"Gwaine? Could you fetch some more firewood? Not a lot, just enough to last until morning." Arthur looked over to his loyal knight, questioningly.

"Sure thing, sweetie." Gwaine smiled brilliantly, and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Make sure..." Gwaine trailed off, but Arthur got the point.

"I will." And with that, Gwaine jogged off deeper into the densely packed forest.

Once again, Arthur sighed in exasperation. He decided to make a light stew, in order to pass the time until Merlin woke up, or morning came. The latter likely to happen first.

He looked over at Merlin again. The boy was very pale, and a sheen of sweat covered most of his forehead. His pulse had slowed since Arthur initially checked it.

After checking on Merlin, and knowing nothing more could be done before Gauis reached them, Arthur felt completely helpless. He shivered, realizing how cold it truly was outside. He turned back to the fire, and put his hands out in front of his body, rubbing them together every so often. The friction provided little heat, but it was something.  
Arthur heard a soft sound, recognized it as the shifting of a bedroll, and looked back to see Merlin's blue eyes looking lazily around the camp. Arthur froze when Merlin's eyes found him, and before he tried to lift his head up, Arthur made a noise, meant to be a warning not to sit up yet.

When Merlin did try, however, to lift his head to look around, Arthur's heart wrenched at the pathetic noise that expelled from his friend. He snapped back into action, rushing forward and crouching in front of him.

Merlin's eye's roamed around, not focusing on anything. Arthur didn't know whether or not to touch Merlin, in fear he might panic.

"Merlin? Can you look at me?" Arthur said quietly. He was thrilled when Merlin's eyes seemed to focus a little. His response, however, did not seem appropriate.

"Mother?" He managed to croak out. Arthur was confused and Merlin looked positively confused.

The knights were now aware the boy had awoken, and crowded to see what was going on.

Merlin blinked heavily. Inspiration struck Arthur and he went to find one of the last water pouches.

He set it between them, then asked, "Merlin? I need you to talk to me..." When Merlin's eyelids began to droop, Arthur lighted grasped his shoulder. "Merlin?" he said.

When Merlin didn't react to his touch, Arthur figured now would be a good time to rehydrate, whist still awake.

He waved Leon over, who grabbed one of the water pouches. Pressing the pouch gently to Merlin's lips, he muttered, "Come on, Merlin..."

Suddenly, Merlin jerked away fear contorting his entire face.

"No!" he yelled, and shut his eyes. Arthur didn't know what to do. Merlin hadn't drank since much earlier in the day. Arthur thought he had a chance, but Merlin wasn't allowing anyone to help him get a drink.

He tried pouring the water into Merlin's mouth, not touching any part of his body. Merlin gagged, and the water came back up. Arthur tried to ignore the tiny amount of blood that came back up, as well. Merlin sobbed, "no..."

Arthur felt nauseous. If he didn't get some water...

He tried reasoning with him, instead.

"Merlin...please, you idiot. I need you to drink this." The boy didn't answer, though.  
Arthur decided enough was enough. He pulled Merlin into his lap, which would have been incredibly awkward, in any other situation. He rested Merlin's head on his elbow, and opened his mouth with his free hand.

"Come on, Merlin. Drink...that's it!"

Once Merlin finally drank the water, Arthur sat still. He could still feel the tremors raging through Merlin's body. They sat just like that, until he fell back asleep, right in Arthur's arms, until Gwaine came back with the firewood.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m.M.m**.

Merlin felt oddly at peace. Aside from the burning sensation in his arm, and now chest. Everything else felt so cold, like he was numb.

It was almost as though he wasn't fully there; he just drew breath, and released it. And although Merlin could make out muffled voices in the background, he couldn't place who's they belonged to. Merlin also felt the presence of those around him.

He thought about Arthur. Was he still here in the forest? It was all so confusing.

_"Arthur!" _

Merlin gasped suddenly, which spurred a coughing fit. His chest fell, but was struggling to rise.

_"I...I can't breathe_!" he thought.

Eventually, the darkness that Merlin had become accostumed to previously, was calling him back. It tempted him like a soft voice, saying, "_Sleep, Merlin. It will be over soon. You will feel safe and warm." _

He welcomed the darkness like an old friend. And for the first time since he was injured, he did feel safe and warm. He closed his eyes and shuddered.

However, the comforting feeling quickly faded, replaced by the sensation of being shaken. This brought newfound pain, and again, he felt like ice.

Merlin opened his eyes, squinting in the bright sunlight.

Each breath he drew was slow, almost agonizingly so.

He could make out a familiar shape beside him. Merlin deduced it was Arthur.

Arthur stood and waved a hand.

Merlin slipped back into unconciousness.

**m.M.m.M.m.M.m**

**A/N Hey hey, you beautiful peoples! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter... this story is becoming increasingly hard to write... But I will stick with it! Please R&R! It's much appreciated. :)**


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